Celebrating a Decade of Coming Together and Giving Back

June 17, 2015 01:00 PM By Brandee McHale, President of the Citi Foundation and Director of Corporate Citizenship, Citi

Brandee McHale (far right) with students from the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship at the American Red Cross Headquarters in New York City.

For the past ten years, Citi volunteers have participated in over 11,000 Global Community Day activities, contributing more than two million hours of service through our annual event. In the days leading up to and including June 13th, more than 80,000 Citi colleagues, friends and family, alums and clients joined together as one global volunteer team for our tenth anniversary.

We volunteered in nearly 500 cities across 93 countries and territories, and the diverse range of activities reflects our tradition of thinking globally and acting locally. With more than 1,200 service projects, ranging from neighborhood clean ups and home building, financial literacy and mentoring young people to environmental conservation and disaster relief efforts. In true Global Community Day fashion, we gave back in many different ways, but with one common purpose: demonstrating our strong and continued commitment to enabling progress in the communities in which we live and work.

Each year I am energized by the willingness of colleagues to roll up their sleeves and give back to others. This past Saturday, I spent the day at the American Red Cross in New York City, and together with more than 100 Citi volunteers, we worked to create 2,000 care kits and write cards that will be distributed to veterans visiting area VA Hospitals and active duty soldiers.

For me, this annual event highlights the depth of engagement we have with our community partners. We could not achieve what we have without their support, guidance and ingenuity. Our community partners help us pinpoint local needs and work with us to develop thoughtful projects that maximize our impact. The continued enthusiasm and dedication of our community partners over the last decade is truly inspiring.

New this year, we invited Citi volunteers to post their best photos (and videos!) on social media, using #CitiVolunteers. And select photos from around the world were shared on Citi’s Instagram – congratulations to our volunteers in Malaysia for making Global Community Day history with the most ‘liked’ photo of their events in support of children impacted by the Nepal earthquake. Across Malaysia, more than 2,000 #CitiVolunteers took part in a variety of events to support this cause.

The 10th anniversary of Global Community Day marked an important milestone in our corporate volunteerism story. And we can’t wait to demonstrate our continued commitment and volunteer opportunities throughout the remainder of the year. Here’s to 10 more years!